November, 2018

Patricia Woodward never misses an opportunity to get a slice of pizza from her favorite place in town, Sauce.

However, businesses like this one are suffering in the town of Cardston, as it remains under a prohibition law, preventing any establishments from selling liquor.

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“I don’t know if it’s hurt the town of Cardston. But I don’t think it’s helped either,” said Woodward , who is part of the Cardston Citizens for Positive Progress. The group is challenging the town’s prohibition law set in place by the provincial government over a century ago.

“People are still afraid of lifting it. The fear is what’s governing the decision. They’re afraid of they effect of alcohol. They’re afraid of losing their values.”

On October 6, a plebiscite could see a change in some of the town’s long held beliefs. The vote will address whether sports facilities should be rented on Sunday’s, if fluoride should be allowed in the drinking water and perhaps raising the most eye-brows whether the provincial prohibition law should be removed to allow for the sale of liquor.

Mayor Maggie Kronen explained this is just a small piece to a much larger puzzle.“They want to be sure to have council’s support, town support through a plebiscite, none binding and they also want to know what surrounding communities feel and think about it. So it is not a done deal, by a long shot,” she said.

Barbra Fox owns a western wear store in Cardston and doesn’t see a reason why the law should be lifted. “I don’t feel that I would see an increase in business or tourism from having alcohol sales in town,” she said.

“As a small town, we still have our problems. We have our law enforcement problem. We have our problems with street people. This isn’t going to go away and it’s only going to get worse with alcohol.”

For Woodward, she feels it comes down freedom of choice. “I don’t think that it’s a community’s right to restrict others in choosing what they want to consume and what they don’t,” she said.

TORONTO – Canadians need to monitor their daily intake of added sugar – found in honey, syrups, fruit juice and in packaged foods – for better cardiovascular health, the Heart and Stroke Foundation is warning in a new position statement.

Canadians should be aiming for a maximum limit of sugar that’s less than 10 per cent of their day’s calories. Ideally, it should be less than five per cent, the organization is suggesting.

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The Heart and Stroke Foundation is the first in the country to provide concrete recommendations on added sugar. Its recommendations match the World Health Organization’s latest guidelines released in March.

Right now, Canadians are consuming more than 13 per cent of total calories from added sugar, the position statement says.

READ MORE: How much sugar should you be eating? How to follow WHO’s guidelines

“The bottom line is that Canadians are eating too much added sugar, and this can result in serious health consequences,” Bobbe Wood, president of the Heart and Stroke Foundation, said in a statement.

She said that excess sugar consumption is linked to heart disease, obesity, and diabetes among other chronic conditions.

When the WHO dropped the gauntlet on consumers with its updated recommendations, it cut sugar intake recommendations in half from its years-old guidelines.

For an average woman who eats about 2,000 calories a day, five per cent of caloric intake is roughly 25 grams of sugar. It’s less than half of a can of pop, about two portions of yogurt or an entire Caramilk bar.

“It’s completely doable to be within that five per cent but it really means not treating yourself all day. Where it gets tricky is the nickelling and diming you can do with foods you may not recognize as having any sugar in them,” Katie Jessop, an HSF registered dietitian, told Global News at the time.

READ MORE: WHO says only 5% of your calories should come from sugar, down from 10%

Ten per cent of a 2,000-calorie diet is 48 grams, or about 12 teaspoons of sugar. Even then, sugary drinks pack about 40 grams or 85 per cent of the daily added sugar limit.

WHO had said that its recommendations would, hopefully, make consumers cognizant that the food they may be eating isn’t fuel, but empty calories.

But they don’t include sugars found naturally in certain foods – fruits and vegetables, milk, grains and legumes and nuts, for example.

READ MORE: How much sugar is in Nutella? Canadian doctor decodes what’s in the hazelnut spread

The position statement came together with input from a panel of national and international experts. It also includes recommendations for consumers, all levels of government, employers, schools and the industry.

HALIFAX – A Halifax man already facing child pornography charges was arrested Monday for allegedly breaching a court order to stay away from school grounds.

Police say Robert William Harris, 47, was spotted near Burton Ettinger Elementary School in Fairview on Friday.

Further investigation revealed Harris had been walking his dog Friday afternoon on Alex Street directly in front of the school.

He was charged with breach of recognizance.

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Halifax Region School Board spokesperson Doug Hadley said there is no evidence to suggest Harris approached or spoke to any of the children who were nearby, but “the mere thought of it would cause a lot of people concern.”

The school board spoke to students at the school about the incident, and informed parents and guardians.

Const. Pierre Bourdages, a spokesperson for the Halifax Regional Police, said although conditions are put in place, police can’t monitor people 24-7.

“They’re put under these conditions to prevent them from re-offending or prevent any further harm from potential victims,” he said.

Harris is a music therapy teacher who specializes in teaching children, people with autism, and people with mental and physical disabilities.

He was arrested in February and charged with making available, accessing and possessing child pornography.

Police said at the time none of the pornography appeared to have been produced locally.

Harris was later released on a recognizance and placed under conditions that included no communication with children under 16 years old and not to be at any daycare, school ground, playground or community centre.

Creative Expressions Music Therapy/Facebook

Parents of students at the school said the news was shocking to them.

“Somebody with that kind of background usually doesn’t stop and I would hate to have that happen around here,” said Al Singer, who has a 7-year-old grandchild that attends the school.

Evelyn Conrad, who lives across the street, has a child who attends the school.

“I’m quite concerned. I don’t even trust my kids outside without me, because I’m afraid of all these predators that go around,” she said.

Court documents indicate that Harris lives in the same neighbourhood as the school, something police say they have no control over.

“As long as they respect the conditions imposed by the courts there’s nothing preventing them from living wherever they want,” said Bourdages.

Retailer Canadian Tire is rolling out a new loyalty program next month, as a way for customers to earn rewards in addition to the much-loved Canadian Tire money.

It says the digital rewards program, accessible through a card or a phone app, will allow customers to collect and redeem Canadian Tire money without carrying bills.

The program will launch in Nova Scotia on October 10, and in the rest of Canada on October 28.

But the retailer adds that paper Canadian Tire money will continue to remain in circulation.

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Related

Canadian Tire ratchets up e-commerce push

‘As Canada’s oldest loyalty program , we know Canadian Tire ‘Money’ holds an extraordinary place in the hearts of Canadians’

Canadian Tire money was introduced in 1958 and was conceived by Muriel Billes, wife of Canadian Tire’s co-founder A.J. Billes.

The bills are available in denominations of 5¢, 10¢, 25¢, 50¢, $1 and $2 and allow consumers to use them toward eligible purchases.

“As Canada’s oldest loyalty program, we know Canadian Tire ‘Money’ holds an extraordinary place in the hearts of Canadians,” said Allan MacDonald, chief operating officer.

“We’re building on it by introducing another way to reward loyal customers who prefer the ease and convenience of digital currency and rewards, further improving the Canadian Tire shopping experience and ultimately helping our customers tackle the jobs and joys of everyday life in Canada.”